"Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners."
- Psalm 146:3-7
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tonight I watched Frank Capra's masterpiece It's a Wonderful Life with my bride. I love that movie. Jill loves the fact that, no matter how hard I try not to, I get misty in the last scene.
Something occurred to me during the climactic "never been born" section of the movie that has never occurred to me before: I wonder how many people watch this show these days and think "Pottersville looks a lot more fun than Bedford Falls."
Pottersville, with its bars, dancing girls, gambling houses and gin-joints that serve hard drinks to men who want to get drunk fast fits far better into our coarsened, entertainment-saturated culture than the quiet streets of Bedford Falls, with it's Bijou, Emporium, and that wonderful old Bailey building and loan. Pottersville moves, and has the flashing lights, raucous crowds, and the frequent gunshots to keep our short attention spans jumping. No one's bored in Pottersville.
For my part, I'm hoping to spend more time in Bedford Falls in 2012.
"Zuzu's petals! Zuzu's . . . they're . . . they're here, Bert!
What do you know about that? Merry Christmas!"
Merry Christmas, everyone, and may you have a wonderful new year!
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Comments on "Do We Want a Wonderful Life?":
2. Bill
- 12/28/2011 11:05 am CST
Well, they did show a church, if memory serves, during the "On V.E. day George wept and prayed, and on V.J. day he wept and prayed"
3. nhe
- 12/28/2011 2:49 pm CST
That's an interesting question Bill, I've never really thought about that.
I'm guessing that most of the people who would prefer Pottersville probably wouldn't make it all the way past the 90 minute mark of the film when we finally see Pottersville.......they'd be too bored.
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Pottersville reminds me of Vegas. I have never figured out why people think that "partying" is so cool. I'm with you--I'd love to spend time in Bedford Falls! But I didn't notice a church. The church used to be the center of the community. Was Hollywood taking the church out back then?